Houston Truck Injury Lawyer

Attorney Michael Grossman Explains the Legal Process After Big Rig Accidents

A fully loaded 18-wheeler is a massive rig, weighing about 25 times more than an ordinary passenger car. In the event of a crash between the truck and a car, it should surprise no one that the car and its occupants end up in a horrific situation, bearing the brunt of the wreck.

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These accidents generally leave massive car repairs and serious injuries; consequently, there are also big car repair bills and extensive medical bills as a result. As an experienced Houston truck injury lawyer, Michael Grossman and his associates at Grossman Law Offices have as one of their goals making sure that you receive a settlement that will ease these huge bills.

Since the stakes in these crashes are so high, the insurance companies behind the trucker will go to great lengths to attempt to negate or discredit your claim, in their attempt to save money. If you have been involved in one of these crashes it is important that you understand your legal rights and also that you hire the most competent and experienced attorney possible to represent you and fight for your compensation.

The Goal of Truck Accident Litigation

There are two main purposes to initiate truck accident litigation. By seeking fair financial compensation for losses suffered, this gives the injured victim the chance to get back on their feet again and not be buried under ever increasing amounts if accident related debt. This is not an inconsequential matter since often these types of crashes do leave the victims with huge medical bills and repair bills; to compound matters the victims are also very often not able to work for awhile because of the extent of their injuries.

If you want to recover these financial loses then you will have to fight to seek that compensation. By law, the party responsible has no legal mandate to pay you anything unless you can prove your case in court.

The second purpose of truck accident litigation is to bring justice to those who were negligent in causing your accident and consequent in juries. This will not only hold the guilt party responsible but will decrease the chances of similar accidents happening again in the future and putting other families in danger.

The Investigation into the Circumstances of your Accident

A thorough investigation is most always the first step on your way to wining your lawsuit. This investigation serves two main purposes: First, it will determine who caused your accident. This is not as apparent as you might think. Other individuals on the road, such as other drivers or pedestrians, may have played some kind of role in the accident. In other cases, it may be determined that the people behind the scenes were responsible; this could happen if it were determined that the people who were responsible for loading te truck did so incorrectly, allowing the cargo to shift and thus causing the accident.

The second point of this investigation is to gather any type of evidence that might be useful to prove the defendant’s liability in court. We have found through all our years of litigating that jurors want to see as much evidence as possible; rather than to be merely told something they want to examine evidence and make up their own minds. Evidence is critically important, whether it is a copy of the 911 phone call, bits of debris from the scene, photographs, or seeing police reports.

At Grossman Law Offices we know how to conduct the type of strong investigation to secure critical evidence that will be needed for your case. Our attorneys and investigators always visit the accident site, even if that means flying in at our own cost. Once there we scour the scene for every type of evidence. We collect surveillance video footage, photographs, police reports, measurement of impact, forensic evidence - basically every single thing that can help your case.

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Of course at the same time the attorneys for the big insurance companies are attempting to do the same thing. They will bring in not only their own attorneys but also their insurance adjusters, accident recreation specialists and general investigators. They also understand the importance of evidence and know that evidence is best collected early on, before it has the chance to be lost or trampled.

We may conclude this section by stating again how important it is to the success of your case to begin this investigation as soon as possible. While our attorneys are so skilled that they can prepare a strong case even if not brought into the case for months after the accident, they will do an even more stellar job if allowed to begin as soon as possible after your accident.

Identifying the Defendants in your Case

It is often not an easy or straightforward task to identify the correct defendant in a truck accident case. The main reason for this is that many parties play a role in preparing a truck to make its deliveries, any one of whom may have made an error that contributed to the accident. Sometimes there even may be more than one defendant responsible for the error, and they all must be named as defendants.

A brief list of those who might be responsible for these errors would include: truckers, trucking companies, manufacturers, the companies that load trucks, as well as the companies that plan the truck’s routes. Lets examine each now in more detail.

• Truckers:

  These are the people most frequently responsible for causing these types of accidents. Sometimes truckers are merely careless; other times they may be speeding, or running red lights or making illegal turns. When these actions lead to accidents and consequent injuries then these trucklers may be held liable. In other cases truckers don’t get sufficient sleep and consequently end up causing accidents. These drivers are by law required to take periodic rest breaks and record these in a log. In reality, however, the truckers generally have a tight time frame in which to make their runs and often will not sleep in order to make their scheduling, falsifying their logs. This happens frequently; one recent study showed that 20% of long haul truckers fell asleep at least once in the preceding month of driving. Thus you can see that the truck driver, whether careless or fatigued, may be a prime candidate as a defendant in your accident.

• Trucking Companies:

  : If a trucker causes your accident there is a good chance that you may be able to name the trucking company as a defendant as well, through a cause of direct or vicarious liability. If the trucking company did something directly responsible for causing your accident then that company may be directly responsible; this could occur if the trucking company was supposed to keep the truck fleet in good working order but then failed to keep the brakes functioning correctly, thus causing a wreck.

  Other times the trucking company may have not done anything directly to cause the accident but still may be held liable by way of vicarious, or indirect, liability. This is possible by way of the legal theory of respondeat superior, whereby employers are responsible for the on-the-job actions of their employees. This may well be valid even if the trucking company did not even know about their employees’ conduct and behavior and basically did nothing wrong itself. If a trucker has caused a wreck, the law generally allows you to hold the trucking company liable as well.

• Manufacturers:

  They may be liable if their defective products were found to be responsible or contributing to an accident that caused injuries to the victim. To operate safely, a truck must have all of its thousands of parts operating correctly. Sometimes a truck will leave a factory with manufacturing defects or with design flaws which contribute to unsafe operations and a consequent accident. As an example, if a tire is inherently defective, it may blow out and cause a truck roll-over. If a strap that holds down cargo is defective and snaps then that cargo may fall off onto a following motorist. If these types of errors occur then you may initiate a lawsuit against the appropriate manufacturer.

• Companies that load trucks:

  Generally, these are separate companies from the main trucking company, and are hired to solely load up the big 18-wheelers. Sometimes they do an improper job loading up the trucks or sometimes that overloaded or improperly loaded the cargo. If this happens then cargo may come loose in transit and fall off the truck creating a whole new hazard to motorists. In the case of overloading, this may create an imbalance on the truck leading to that truck flipping over. If a truck has been improperly loaded, the loading company may be held responsible for this.

• Companies that plan routes:

  These firms may be responsible if the truck in question collides with an environmental obstacles that it didn’t have sufficient room to clear. Since these massive trucks cannot simply drive on all the same roads that a passenger car can, truck routing companies are hired routinely to plan out the best and safest routes for this trucks to use on their long haul routes. That is to be certain that the 18-wheeler will have enough room on all the bridges and tunnels that will be found enroot. If the truck routing company makes an error and

As you can see after reading this, there may be several different parties responsible for the accident. It is therefore critically important to correctly identify each and every defendant in your case.

The Two Ways to Win Your Case

In the movies the whole trial by jury scenario is certainly glamorized, to the point that most people believe that this is the only way that a case is won. In reality, that is but one way. Lets discuss this more in depth.

Winning by Settlement

If a case is settled, the plaintiff and the defendant avoid having to go through the rigors of a trial, by negotiating and reaching an agreement outside of the courtroom. This means that the defendant agrees to pay the plaintiff a certain amount of money, in return for which the victim agrees not to sue the defendant in the future for any more money.

If the settlement is indeed for a fair amount, then this can be highly beneficial to the plaintiff. The reason for that is that you will probably get your money faster, you will be able to spend less time involved in the whole legal process and you will be able to avoid the uncertainness that will always be present in a jury trial.

Securing a fair settlement offer from the defendant is not the easiest of tasks and will most always require the professional skills of an experienced attorney. Since a defendant is not obliged to pay you anything, the defendant will rarely make a decent offer unless they are nervous that they might lose in a jury trial and consequently have to make an even larger payment to you. Obviously, experience in negotiating settlements is clearly indicated here, and the best way to secure that experience is to retain one of the attorneys at Grossman Law Offices. We have been successfully litigating these types of cases for over 20 years and have won millions of dollars in settlements from the big insurance companies, throughout that period of time. These giant insurance companies are well aware of our outstanding track record and today often will seek us out to settle out of court rather than face out tenacious attorneys in front of a jury.

Sometimes the defendant may try to tempt you with a low ball settlement offer, particularly if you do not have legal representation. A low ball settlement offer is not at all a good idea; if accepted you would give up your legal rights to hire an attorney and sue for a fair value. On occasions the defendant will realize that an injured victim may be facing a seemingly endless stream of repair and medical bills and will attempt to take advantage of this situation by offering quick and easy cash. Don’t fall for this, but rather discuss this situation with an honest and experienced attorney to learn the true value of your settlement.

Winning At Trial

For many different reasons, sometimes a case will not settle outside the courtroom, and will consequently need to go to trial in order to win. In a trial the plaintiff bears the burden of proof, to show that the defendant should be held liable for the victim’s injuries and consequent financial losses. If this burden of proof is not adequately proved, then the plaintiff will receive nothing.

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As you might well expect, it is rarely if ever a wise idea to attempt to represent yourself in court, particularly in cases involving truck accident litigation. You will need top be able to prove without any doubt the four key elements of your case; these four elements include duty, breach, causation and damages. Let’s discuss each of these now in more detail.

• Duty:

  This is the first element of your truck accident case. Here you must prove that a legal duty of care existed between you and the defendant, that the defendant owed you a duty of care to act in a way in which you would not be injured. This duty of care is established by law and will vary depending on the situation and the circumstances and the relationships between the people involved. We all owe each other the duty if care to behave as would a reasonable person behave. This is generally fairly easy to establish in your truck accident case.

• Breach:

  This is the second element that must be proved. After having demonstrated that the defendant owed you a legal duty of care you now must show that the defendant breached, or violated, this duty of care. In most truck accidents the defendant will breach this duty of care by driving in the manner that a reasonable driver would not drive. You will need to collect and then present evidence supporting this breach of duty to the jury.

• Causation:

  This is the third key element that you must prove. This basically means that you must show that the defendant’s negligence was responsible for the cause of your injuries. A problem often occurs at this point when a defendant will try to blame the cause of the accident on another third party; as we have seen before there are many parties who share responsibility to get a big rig on the road today. Again, having sufficient evidence is key here, as evidence is what will sway the jury to your side.

• Damages:

  Finally, you must prove the fourth element, that of damages. Damages refers to the amount of financial losses that you have suffered as a result of the injuries sustained in your accident. Damages may include such things as pain and suffering, medical bills, repair bills, lost wages due to necessary hospitalization and loss of future potential income.

  Damages must be substantiated in order to win your case. You must total up all the amounts requested and then document every penny. In a court case involving a trucker these damages are frequently disputed as the defense will by route argue that you have inflated your demands and that you are merely seeking a hand-out. Evidence once again is so important to show that this is but an attempt by the defense to wiggle off the hook.

  Calculating these damages, as you may imagine after treading this, is not an easy task, particularly if your injuries will require long term treatment. In addition, it is difficult to put a price tag on such intangible items as pain and suffering. In another example, how would you go about calculating future lost income for a 30 year old with outstanding career prospects who is partially paralyzed in a truck crash? Simply multiplying current annual salary by the number of years left in the workforce would not be sufficient. This would not take into consideration merit raises based upon achievement nor the benefits of medical, dental or retirement plans. The attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have had extensive experience calculating these types of intangible damages and can present them to the jury in a convincing manner to ensure your settlement.

Proving all four of these elements is critically important if you want to win your case. If you miss presenting appropriate evidence on even one element you will lose. A competent personal injury attorney is absolutely essential to have on your team.

Some of the Most Common Obstacles

There are many complications that pop up in truck accident case, largely because of the large amount of insurance money that is at stake. Three of these obstacles include large insurance policies, self-insured trucking companies and lying truckers. Lets discuss these now in more detail.

Large Insurance Policies

The commercial insurance polices on a massive 18-wheeler bear little resemblance to the policy on your family car. These policies are for 50 times the amount on a passenger vehicle, so consequently the backing insurance company stands to lose a lot of money if they fail to win their case.

Consequently, the insurance common will do all that it can to avoid paying on your claim. Their front line of attack is their aggressive insurance adjusters. These adjusters earn their income by helping to discredit your claim so you may expect them to be ruthless in their dealings with you.

They may well attempt to trip you up on recorded phone calls into saying that you were not that seriously injured or that you actually caused your own accident. The best way to deal with these adjusters is not to talk with them at all. At Grossman Law Offices that is exactly what we do with our clients: we refuse to allow the adjusters to speak directly with our client, instead handling all communications ourselves with the adjusters.

The insurance company will also employ specialized defense attorneys, usually on retainer. These attorneys only handle trucking accident claims and are also known for being ruthless in their defense of their insurance company bosses and in their attempts to shift blame onto you. Our attorneys at Grossman Law Offices know how to deal effectively with both the adjusters and the defense attorneys in order to protect your interests and put the blame right back where it belongs.

Self-Insured Truckling Companies

Generally speaking, most trucking companies carry commercial insurance polices. Sometimes, however, you will find a trucking company that opts to be self-insured, paying any damages out of its own pocket rather than via a traditional insurance policy. In this case, you would be negotiating not with an insurance company representative but rather with an officer from the actual trucking company.

This can actually be even more difficult than dealing with those aggressive insurance company adjusters. The salary of these officers is directly tied to being able to deny or substantially reduce any payments made out on accident claims. There consequently is financial self-interest involved when these officers deal with your claim, and they will do whatever they can do ensure that you lose.

Furthermore, these self-insured trucking company reps are not bound by a professional ethics code as are those insurance adjusters. These officers have been known to lie, to tamper with evidence, to destroy evidence and even to threaten and harass both victims and sympathetic witnesses. The attorneys at Grossman Law Offices can put a swift stop to these unpleasant types of behavior.

Lying Truck Drivers

Unfortunately truck drivers have a built in incentive to distort the truth. If they are found to have caused an accident they will probably lose their job and will then have a difficult time getting another position. Thus it is in their financial best interests to deflect blame away from them and onto you.

You run the risk of losing your lawsuit if the trucker in your case is lying and you can’t prove it. The attorneys at Grossman Law Offices can produce evidence that will expose the trucker’s lies or we can use depositions to question the defense’s witnesses to seek out the truth. We are excellent at uncovering the truth and know how to grill a truck drive until he admits the truth too. Let us help you!

What We Can Do For You

The attorneys here at Grossman Law Offices have been litigating truck accident cases for over 20 years; we consequently have the experience and the expertise to get the job done. Some of the things that we routinely will do for a client in one of these cases include:

• Ensure that our clients get necessary medical attention, even if they have no insurance or believe that they cannot afford a doctor.
• Conduct a thorough investigation to be able to assess liability for the accident.
• Obtain every piece of evidence that might help to bolster your case, including obtaining measurements, photographs, recordings, video surveillance footage, witness statements, bits of wreckage and anything else that might prove helpful.
• Working to pressure the defendant to settle out of court for a full and fair value.
• Creating strong trial strategies in case we go to court, to win your case.
• Handling all communications with the insurance company adjusters and defendants.
• Ensuring that those self-insured trucking companies and their spokesmen officers behave in a proper manner and do not take advantage of you.
• Taking depositions, gathering evidence and working to disprove the lies that truckers will tell.

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Contact Grossman Law Offices

If you or family member has been injured in a big rig trucking accident then contact Grossman Law Offices today at 1-855-392-0000 (toll-free). We are pleased to offer a complimentary consultation and are available to you 24 hours a day. Michael Grossman and his associates look forward to discussing your case with you and to answering all of your specific questions.

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